Facilities and Resources

The Department of Art Practice facilities include six studio spaces: Printmaking Studio, Painting and Drawing Studio, Wood and Metal Sculpture Studio, and Digital Media Labs (for photography, video, audio, and animation productions) in Kroeber Hall and the Ceramics Studio and Project Lab in Wurster Hall. Each lab is overseen by a professional mechanician (a combination of mechanic and technician) who is available most weekdays to answer technical questions, familiarize students with the equipment, and supervise shop use. Labs are available for undergraduates enrolled in art courses and graduate students who demonstrate proficiency with the specific studio processes. Graduate students must coordinate with the appropriate mechanician and faculty for access to these studios.

The Art Department maintains and operates its facilities under the guidelines of state and federal environmental policy and practice. The University’s Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S) unit enforces state and federal policy on campus property. Before starting a project, process and materials will be thoroughly reviewed by faculty and the appropriate studio mechanician before access to a studio is granted. Graduate students without experience in a proposed studio process must enroll in an appropriate course that will allow them to realize their project goals.

Kroeber Hall

Most of the department’s activities are located in Kroeber Hall which has seminar rooms, classrooms for painting and drawing, well-equipped studios for printmaking and metal and wood sculpture, the Digital Media Labs, a digital photography studio, and the Worth Ryder Art Gallery (116). The third floor of Kroeber Hall houses the main office of the Department of Art Practice (345), the Garron Reading Room (346), and faculty offices.

Wurster Hall

Across from Kroeber Hall, Wurster Hall houses an extensive ceramics studio and a flexible project lab. The honors studio and two graduate studios are located in Wurster.

Worth Ryder Art Gallery

Located in 116 Kroeber Hall, the Worth Ryder Art Gallery (WRAG) has served as the department’s cultural and artistic hub for graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, and the Bay Area arts community for over forty years. The gallery serves primarily as an exhibition platform for emerging contemporary art practices and methodologies. The gallery has two exhibition spaces. The larger gallery (~1800 sq. ft.) accommodates a medium-sized group exhibition. The smaller, more intimate, gallery (~500 s. ft.) accommodates a small group show or serves as an excellent installation space. Both galleries have articulated lighting and internet access. WRAG is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5 pm.

Graduate Studios

The majority of the graduate studios are located at the off-campus site of the UC and Richmond Bay Campus. This site provides over 10,000 square feet of studio space in a beautiful, San Francisco Bay-side location. The graduate studios are equipped with a seminar room, open construction space, wireless internet access, a digital video editing station, digital printers, flexible exhibition space, and a kitchen. Students have day access to the woodworking and machine shops located there.

Garron Reading Room

The Garron Reading Room, located in 346 Kroeber Hall, houses a collection of books, periodicals, and digital media. The room provides internet access.

Libraries

The Berkeley campus library system consists of the Doe Main Library, Moffitt Undergraduate Library, Media Resources Center, Bancroft Library, and 23 branch libraries which together contain over seven million books and periodicals. Most notable is the Art History slide collection on the 4th floor of the Doe Library which contains over 300,000 slides. Each student’s Cal photo ID serves as a library card at all campus library facilities.